03/28/2018 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

         SB 184-ACCESS TO MARIJUANA CONVICTION RECORDS                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:13:20 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR   COGHILL  reconvened   the  meeting   and  announced   the                                                               
consideration  of  SB  184.  He   noted  the  proposed  committee                                                               
substitute (CS).                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:13:54 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COSTELLO  moved to adopt  the work  draft CS for  SB 184,                                                               
version 30-LS1282\N, as the working document.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:14:02 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL objected for an explanation of the changes.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:14:35 PM                                                                                                                    
JORDAN  SHILLING,  Staff  Senator   John  Coghill,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  Juneau,  Alaska,  advised  that  SB  184  has  been                                                               
significantly  narrowed in  scope. It  reduces costs  to agencies                                                               
while  maintaining the  core aspects.  He reviewed  the following                                                               
changes:                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
   • The ban the box provision was removed.                                                                                     
   • The requirement that the Department of Public Safety go                                                                    
     through  each  manual record  in  their  APSIN database  and                                                               
     remove eligible  individuals was removed.  Those individuals                                                               
     instead would  apply and, on  a case-by-case basis  DPS will                                                               
     approve  or  deny their  removal  from  APSIN. This  is  the                                                               
     provision that drove the fiscal note.                                                                                      
   • The CS retains the provision that removes the convictions                                                                  
     for eligible individuals from CourtView.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL  asked the sponsor  to provide his thoughts  on the                                                               
CS.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:15:59 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  TOM BEGICH,  Alaska State  Legislature, Juneau,  Alaska,                                                               
said he  supports the  committee substitute.  He related  that he                                                               
had a  good conversation with  Senators Coghill and  Shower about                                                               
the ban  the box concept and  the fact that some  of the elements                                                               
are  under  consideration  by the  Department  of  Administration                                                               
(DOA). If it  requires legislation he will pursue  that in future                                                               
years.  What  the  bill  tries  to  do  is  provide  people  with                                                               
opportunities  for  redemption  and  moving  forward  with  their                                                               
lives. Conversations with  his staff, the chair's  staff, and DPS                                                               
resolved the  issue of DPS  going through 11,000 records.  The CS                                                               
gets to  the same  point as  the original version  in a  far more                                                               
simplified way. He encouraged the committee's support.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:17:08 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  COGHILL offered  his understanding  that the  bill doesn't                                                               
just pull  the relevant cases  from CourtView. It places  a block                                                               
on the file unless there is a reason to access it.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR BEGICH said that's correct.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL asked Ms. Meade  to comment on the language related                                                               
to CourtView.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
2:18:07 PM                                                                                                                    
NANCY  MEADE, General  Counsel, Administrative  Staff, Office  of                                                               
the  Administrative  Director,  Alaska Court  System,  Anchorage,                                                               
Alaska,  said  Section  3  makes  these  court  records  entirely                                                               
confidential. They  will be treated like  a child in need  of aid                                                               
(CINA) case or a juvenile case.  These are not open to the public                                                               
in any manner and are not posted on CourtView.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL  asked if the  information in those files  would be                                                               
open to a lawyer's search.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MEADE   said  law  enforcement  attorneys   have  access  to                                                               
confidential cases and judges know  there are confidential cases,                                                               
but the information is not available to the general public.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL asked  if it would be fairly easy  for the court to                                                               
flag these cases.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE  said it isn't  necessarily easy to identify  the cases                                                               
because the marijuana  statutes have changed over  the years, but                                                               
she  has  high confidence  the  court  will  be able  to  comply.                                                               
Responding to a further question, she  said the court can do this                                                               
without fiscal impact.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  COGHILL  found  no  further   questions.  He  removed  his                                                               
objection and version N was adopted.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:21:56 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COSTELLO  moved to report the  CS for SB 184,  version N,                                                               
from  committee  with  individual  recommendations  and  attached                                                               
fiscal note(s).                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:22:13 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  COGHILL announced  that  without  objection CSSB  184(JUD)                                                               
moved from the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee.